Southeast Asia: Ruins, Monkeys and MUIC

This weekend, I (along with 13 others) took a train to Ayuthaya, the old capital of Bangkok, and Lompuri, a small town that is "run by a renegade of wild monkeys." We biked from ruin to ruin in Aythaya and through the parks. It was a cute town and not that touristy. On the second night, 2 other girls and I decided to head to Lompuri so we wouldn't have to travel the next morning. We didn't arrive until nearly 11pm and the streets were quiet and empty; it's so small that my guide book wasn't all that helpful. We literally just started walking and hoped to find a place to stay. We finally found a cute little guest house and decided to venture into the town. After quite a bit of wondering, we came upon a lit up, noisy bar with a hundred or so motorbikes lined up outside. It was somewhat of a mix between an old western saloon and sports bar. We grabbed a table in the corner; although we were the only white people in the entire place and the music was in Thai, it was really neat seeing people of all ages enjoying themselves. Everybody knew the words and seemed to be having so much fun. The next day, we visited a ruin from sometime BC. We were the only ones there and climbed all over. Later, half of the group from Ayuthaya joined us to go find the monkeys. It did not take us long at at all! They were everywhere...and it didn't take long for us to realize they weren't the nicest creatures. We were definitely not upset when we had to rush to catch the afternoon train back to Bangkok.

The Ruins in Ayuthaya...where I definitely put some gymnastics skills to work.

MUIC: Mahidol University International College (There are Mahidols all over Thailand and I go to the international one)

Just getting to school is an adventure: after walking to the bus stop, I stand in the road and have to flag down a bus (as I am only the ever person at the bus stop), or rather the dump truck with 2 benches and a canopy. On Monday and Wednesday, I don't have class till 2:00 and on Tuesday and Thursday, not till noon! I am taking Intro to Thai Language and Culture, Tropical Ecology, Women in Southeast Asia, and Morality and Ethical Studies. I have learned enough Thai to convince the touristy places that I am a student so I don't have to pay the "foreigner" price and I get to go on really cool snorkeling field trips for Tropical Ecology. I haven't had an environment class since 10th grade though, so we will have to see how good I actually do in the class. (I am totally in it for the trips!!) The school is pretty small and I stay in the same big building all day. It kind of reminds me of high school, especially since all of us international kids congregate in the lunchroom during our free time. (And oh yeah, studying and homework have gone back to being not that important.) The uniforms are an entirely different story. It is kind of humerous to see how much the girls can express their "individuality." I've never seen so many short skirts, scarves and high heels in one place in my life! I tried heels for a day but I've decided to resort to crazy tennis shoes instead (Sorry Dad, but I'm bringing back 3 new pairs already). Of course I did put a little pink in my hair which has definitely earned me some strange looks and my personal favorite, "oh my gosh, what happened to your hair?"

Let me know what is going on back at home and Happy 17th Birthday Shale! (Take care of my car, please!)

The neighborhood where my apartment is: